Tuesday, 7 June 2011

Hybrid cars-the vehicles of tomorrow


Want to buy a car that runs on the water? Well, this may have sounded funny a few years back, but not anymore. Scientists have to defeat the growing threat of air pollution, cars that really 100% use water as fuel developed. And what's more, these cars can possibly be the vehicles of the future, a time when petrol and diesel powered cars will be made obsolete and degrading museums.

Cars running on alternative sources of energy are the latest craze in the car world. In fact, scientists have developed, cars that run not only on the water, but also on other non-conventional sources of energy such as electricity, solar energy, bio-diesel, ethanol and LPG. This is a necessity, given the ozone-depleting stocks of fossil fuels and rising pollution levels in the world. In this article we take a quick look at the different advantages and disadvantages of car powered by alternative energy sources.

Till date is the most popular form of alternative energy that has been used to power cars electricity. Cars like the Toyota Prius and the Honda Insight can operate using both electricity and gasoline. These cars, labelled as hybrids, contain an electric motor in addition to the regular, give the rider a choice of energy source. Compared to other cars, the hybrids more environmentally friendly, and are also cheap to run. Hybrid electric vehicles contain batteries that can be charged using a standard AC outlet at home.

The use of LPG and CNG is also promoted by various Governments in recent years to cut back on greenhouse gas emissions. Cars powered by CNG are extremely efficient, and very low levels of emissions produce. It is possible to convert a conventional petrol engine in a CNG-compatible using a simple hybrid conversion kit, making petrol car owners a chance to cut down on emission levels.

In addition to these, a lot of research done in recent years in the development of cars running on solar energy and bio-diesel. While the former usually energy from the Sun using solar panels on his body harvesting, the last use fuels derived from natural, renewable energy sources such as plants and vegetable oils. Astrolab, designed by French transport futurists Venturi, is the first commercially available solar powered car in the world. Solar powered cars have zero-emissions levels and ideal carrier for a world free of pollution. However, the development of the solar car is still in the nascent stages and we are yet to have a solar-powered heavy vehicles on the roads. On the other hand, run on bio-fuel cars are easier to make, but their popularity due to the limited availability of bio-fuels is checked.

The water powered car is also one of the possible solutions that scientists have come to the challenges of increasing air pollution. This car uses the technique of electrolysis to split water into oxygen and hydrogen, so generate the required strength in the process. Although a pollution free vehicle, the water-powered car is expensive to make, and research is still on the car commercially viable.

What is promising, however, is the huge amount of interest that hybrid cars have generated between people all over the world. With ozone-depleting oil resources and rising fuel prices, powerful r & d conducted in the development of cars running on alternative forms of energy. The increase in air pollution and the greenhouse effect has also contributed to the search for a non-polluting, cost-effective car. In fact, we are not very far away of the day when the perfect green car a reality for the consumer. Hybrid cars are indeed the vehicles of tomorrow and they are here to stay.








GSIC Roy is a contributed Batchmates.com writer for the largest Alumni portal in India. With his research work and articles he has an extra edge is added to the e-magazine entertainment BM times. His articles reach millions of readers every day are different topics.


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